Pimiento coring machine having a rotatable coring head, including an annular series of reciprocal rotatable coring tubes



Sept. 14, 1954 E w 2,688,993

PIMIENTO CORING MACHINE HAVING A ROTATABLE CORING HEAD, INCLUDING ANANNULAR SERIES OF RECIPROCAL ROTATABLE CORING TUBES Filed Oct. 18, 19504 SheqtS-Sheet l M a BI 53 N -1 8 g3; E SE la a IINVENTOR Earl WhiteATTORNEYS E. WHITE Sept. 14, 1954 PIMIENTO CORING MACHINE HAVING AROTATABLE CORING 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Oct. 18, 1950 Earl White y, a w7////////// 7 7//////////////////// v Q\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\OW ATTORNEYS Sept. 14, i954 E. WHITE 2,688,993 PIMIENTO CORING MACHINEHAVING A ROTATABLE CORING HEAD. INCLUDING AN ANNULAR SERIES OFRECIPROGAL ROTATABLE CORING TUBES I 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Oct. 18. 1950INVENTOR Fa 1 2 White ATTORNEYS Patented Sept. 14, 1954 UNITED STATESPATENT OFFICE PIMIENTO CORING MACHINE HAVING A B- TATABLE CORING HEAD,INCLUDING AN ANNULAR SERIES RECIPR OCAL RO- 9 Claims.

Generically this invention relates to an automatic machine for removingthe cores from fruits or vegetables, but is more particularly directedto such a machine for removing the cores from and otherwise operatingupon pimiento peppers, and the like.

The manner and means heretofore in use for removing the cores of peppershas proven not only comparatively slow and laborious but otherwiseunsatisfactory, and, therefore, one of the principal objects of thisinvention is the provision of an automatic pepper coring and finishingmachine capable of not only rapidly removing the cores, but alsoeiiecting the removal of other portions in a finishing operation.

Another important object of this invention is the provision of a peppercoring machine comprising a rotatable head including an annular seriesof reciprocal rotatable coring tubes, an endless conveyor chain havingpepper bearing cups adapted to pass beneath the rotatable head foreffecting removal of the core from each pepper as it passes thereunder,and additional novel means in connection with the respective cups forremoving the bloom end of the pepper and atsubstantially the same time acoring tube is removing the core from the opposite end thereof.

A further important object of this invention is the provision of arotatable head including an annular series of reciprocatory rotatablecoring tubes, and an endless conveyor chain structure including aplurality of pepper carrying cups adapted to travel thereunder inoperative relatlon with said tubes, and additional novel means inadvance of the tubes for removing the stem portions of the peppers sothat the pods will not be tilted or out of position as they pass, underthe coring tubes.

A further important object of, this invention is the provision of acoring machine of this character provided with a series of rotatablecoring tubes including means operable within each tube and adapted whenthe tube has reached its insertible coring limit withinthe pepper togrippingly engage and hold the core during withdrawal of the tube andcore from the pepper, and means then p-redeterminably operable torelease said core holding means to permit discharge of the core from thetube.

An important object of this invention is the provision of a pepper orthe like coring machine of this character comprising a rotatable annularseries of coring tubes, each tube including pivotally mounted fingersextending therein operable tube.

to grippingly engage the core of a pepper within the tube as it isseparated from the pepper and to hold it until'the tube has reached apredetermined position in its rotary travel, the fingers then beingoperable to their initial open position, and at which time the core isejected from the Another important object of this invention is theprovision of a pepper coring machine of this character comprising arotatable annular series of coring tubes, each tube being independentlyrotatable, core engaging means within the tubes, means adapted toactuate said engaging means into gripping contact with the core as it isseparated from the pepper, and. to hold it until the tube has advancedto a predetermined position,

then operable topermit release of said gripping I means, andadditionally operable" to expel said core from the tube.

A further important object of this invention is the provision of acoring machine of this character including a coring tube structurecomprising novel means for operating the tube in pepper injecting andcore separating direction, means within said tube for gripping the coreas it is separated from the pepper, and reciprocal cam means foractuating said gripping means to hold the core as the tube is withdrawn,said cam means operating to release the gripping means at the propertime, and then operating as a plunger to eject the core.

Another important object of this invention is the Provision of a peppercoring machine comprising an endless chain conveyor having a series ofcups operatively connected therewith, each cup adapted to contain apepper or the like to be cored, a coring mechanism comprising arotatable series of reciprocal coring tubes, and means in connectionwith said conveyor structure operable to effect vertical adjustmentthereof to position the same in operative relation with respect to thecoring tubes in accordance with peppers of different heighths.

With these and other objects in view, which will become apparent as thedescription proceeds, the invention resides in the construction,combination and arrangement of parts, hereinafter more fully describedand claimed, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which likecharacters of reference indicate like parts throughout the severalfigures, of which:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of my improved coring machine.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged front end elevation, showing the cored articleremoving depending chain portion at the rear end of the machine.

the driving gear arrangement with the drive shafts and parts inelevation.

Fig. 6 is an enlarged perspective view of one of the coring tube camrods with its finger'control rod, and frame section mounting therefor.

Fig. 7 is an enlarged elevational'view of one,

of the coring tubes and core engaging finger mounting. i

Fig. 8 is an enlarged transverse sectional view through the conveyorchain and track, taken on Mounted on and secured to the frame plate orstructure t are the upright supporting standards 6 and i, the endstandard 6 being further secured by a brace is anchored by a bolt orlike fastening means t. Suitably journaled in said standards 6 and l isa drive shaft IE), on one end of which is Also mounted Mounted suitablysecured bevel gear 1!. thereon is a drive sprocket wheel 12.

rearwardly from sprocket i2 is a motor l3 (Figs@ 1 and 2), having adrive sprocket. M connected to sprocket 52 by sprocket chain I5. Memberll extends beyond the frame member 2 to which it is secured by brace I6;as desired.

Extending through top member 4 and supported in thrust bearing H, thebase l3 .of which is supported by base member '5, is the main driveshaft It} which extends through the coring head structure A. Theupperend of said shaft l9 extends above frame member 4 and is journaled inbearing 20, and suitably mounted on and secured to the upper end of saidshaft is a bevel gear 2! and meshing with bevel gear H on motor driveshaft l0.

Within the frame structure 22 formed by the j circular series of framemembers 23 and connected bythe rib members 24 is an upper cam track 26and a lower cam track 2'7, mounted on.

and suitably secured to rods 25 which extend through the to frame member4 and are supportingly secured by nuts 28. Reciprocally mounted in eachof the frame members 23 is a coring tube supporting cam rod 28.

Mounted on a pin 38 at the top of each rod 29 (in the present instancesix) is a cam roller 3| off-set with respect to the said rod and adaptedto travel in the upper eccentric or cam track 26 for a purpose directlymore fully appearing.

Likewise, a finger control and core ejecting rod 32 is mounted withinrod 29 and at its upper end is formed with a lateral extension 33adapted to project through registering slots 34 formed in rod 2d and itsframe section 23 and on the end of which is mounted a cam roller 35adapted to travel in the lower cam track or eccentric 2'! to,

effect relative reciprocation of the finger control rod 32 with respectto that of its rod 29. Mounted on each of the coring tube cam rods 29flush with the shoulder 36 of the reduced end 31 is a fixed coring tubehead plate 38. Extending through opposite sides of head plate 38 aredepending rods 39 adjustably secured by nuts 40' and mounted on saidrods seating is a hold-down bar or plate M, and mounted on said boltsand seating on said bar are compression springs t2, the upper ends ofsaid springs seating in the lower ends of the tubes 2,3, and the upperend of said tubes seating against the plate 33. The resiliently mountedhold-down plate i! is adapted to prevent upward movement of the peppersincident to the withdrawal of the coring tubes following their coringaction and contributes to maintaining the peppers in proper positionduring the coring operation.

Suitably mounted on the reduced end ti of each of the cam rods 29 androtatably mounted on ball bearings M, is a coring tube gear 65 adaptedto mesh with the large gear l'a. Said gear is formed with a hub portionll projecting within the upper end of the coring tube 43 and is fixedlysecured thereto by screws or other fastening means The lower end of saidtube extends through and beyond the holddown bar il. It will be notedthat the head A is mounted on and splined or otherwise attached to themain drive shaft It, and as it is rotated clockwise by said shaft, thecoring tube assemblies B will be rotated about the large gear at; and,since the coring tube gears 45 are in mesh with said large gear, therespective tubesdt will'be rotated about their axes as they are rotatedby the movement of said head about its axis and travel around andreciprocally over the face of said large gear 45. The coring tubes lt(Figs. 3 and 7) are formed with cutting edges d8.

It is important that irrespective of whether the peppers or otherarticles are in a firm or soft state, that the cores be removed cleanlyand without damage to the article being cored, and, therefore, it isnecessary that the large gear be rotated clockwise which causesthecoring tubes it to rotate anti-clockwise at a substantially rapid speedand in a direction opposite to that of said head A. The speed of saidcoring tubes may be varied by changing the speed of the large gear ifdesired in accordance with different articles being'cored.

Each of the coring tubes 58 is formed ad acent its upper end withdiametrically opposed slots at, and is formed adjacent the lower edge ofeach slot with a pair of ears St. A pair of coreengaging fingers C ismounted in each tube and formed with an arcuate pro} cticn engageablebetween ears 5! and rotatably mounted on a pin or bolt 53 extendingthrough the registering openings of the ears 5! and projectings Eachfinger is formed with a widened head as projecting upwardly andoutwardly from the projection 52 and upwardly and downwardly,intersecting with the cam faces 55 which extend at an angle upwardly andinwardly from a point adjacent the pivotal post 53. Said heads 5d of thefingers normally project upwardly beyond the tubes it and substantiallyat their widened portions, they are formed with arcuate slots 56 inwhich is mounted i a coil spring 5! which normally maintains the fingersin substantially overlying contact with the inner wall surface of thetube The cam finger control rod 32 extends downwardly through the coringtube gear 55 to a point substantially intermediate the pivot bolts 53and substantially at the lower ends of the cam faces 55. Suitablymounted on the end of said rod is the fingeroperating annular cam andcore plunger head 58. Said head 53 is of a greater diameter than thenormal distance between the upper ends of the ing to the shape of thepeppers.

cam faces 55, so that in operation, as the tube is projected into thepepper D during the coring operation the rod 32 is raised by the camroller 35 reaching a predetermined point in its cam track 21 causing camhead 58 to engage the cam surfaces 55 spreading the heads 54 against theaction of the spring 51, and moving the fingers C to thepositions shownin dash lines as at 59, to grippingly engage and hold the core until thetube has reached a predetermined point in its conveyed travel or on thefar side of the rotary head A, whereupon the cam rod 32'is moved withits plunger head 58 downwardly, permitting the fingers by the action ofthe spring 3! to assume their initial expanded positions and the plungerhead at the same time moving downwardly expelling the core from the tubeas will hereinafter be more fully explained.

Referring more particularly to the endless pepper conveyor E andassociated parts it will be noted that a pair of parallel spaced tracks$0 is adapted to support the traveling conveyor E.

Each of the said tracks comprises a pair of spaced angle members 61, thevertical portions 62 of which are spaced apart to house and permit thefree travel of the conveyor chain E, and the horizontal aligned portions63 of which are adapted to be supported by the frame standards 64interconnecting said members El and frame members 65 which are suitablyconnected at one end to the standards 3 and in their other ends with therear frame posts 66, the standards 84, frame members 65, and end posts66 may be connected by suitable cross members 61, as desired. The posts66 are further connected by a cross member 68 on which is suitablymounted central of its length, the rear end vertically disposed sprocket69 journaled on axle 10.

Mounted at the front end of the machine, as directly more fullyexplained, is a horizontally disposed sprocket H, and adapted to travelin said tracks 60 and over sprockets H and 69 is an endless conveyorchain E comprising semi-universally interconnected links I2 and 73.Mounted on said chain E are a plurality of cone-shaped pepper carryingcups M substantially conform- Each of said cups is formed, in thepresent instance, with an integral base portion I5, adapted to seat onthe upper face of a link as shown in Fig. 4, and connected to the linksby screws or other suitable fastening means 16, the base and link beingformed with registering bores H and i8, respectively, in which isjournaled shaft 19 on the upper end of which is suitably mounted andsecured a rotatable burr member or thelike 80 having a toothed orroughened surface 8| adapted to remove the flower end of the pepper Dwhen the latter is being carried by the cup M as will be directly morefully explained. The lower end of said shaft '19 projects beyond thechain E and on which is suitably mounted a pulley 82 formed with aconcave surface 83. In order not to create a Vacuum by the placing ofthepeppers in the cups 14, said cups are formed with a series of spacedopenings 14. Also the cup base 15 is formed with integral wing portions15' extending at right angles thereto and constituting stabilizingconveyor and cup supporting members adapted for slidable travel over thedual track surfaces of members 63 as will be apparent. I

Mounted on the posts 66 are the bearings 84 in which is journaled ashaft 85 and mounted on the. shaft are the sprockets 86 in alignmentwith the tracks 60 over which'is adapted to travel the endless chain E,said chain extending downwardly from said sprockets and over rearsprocket 69 so as to effect the removal of the cored peppers as willdirectly more fully appear.

The tracks 8!] terminate at their front ends at a point short of thestandards 2 and are supported on cross bar 81 suitably interconnectingthe vertical members 88, which latter are also connected by the crossbar 89. Said vertical members 88 are seated on and secured to braces 90,said braces extending upwardly and rear warclly and suitably connectedat their upper ends to the track members SI of tracks, 60, or by a crossmember interconnecting said tracks, if desired. Said endless chain Eextends forwardly beyond members 88 and the end of tracks 5!) and aroundsprocket ll, having vertical slidable connection with its tubular shaft,the axis of which is coincident with that of the axis of the verticaldrive shaft i9, and said sprocket is rotatably supported by a cradlestructure 91 including arms 92 pivotally connected thereto as at 93, therear ends of said arms extending over cross bar 89 and under cross bar8'! to which they are suitably connected. The arms 88 are provided withrack teeth Si l adapted to mesh with pinions 95 mounted on shaft 95journaled in bearings 9i suitably mounted on and connected to angle bars98 mounted on and connected to frame standards 2 and 3. Splined orotherwise mounted at the free end of shaft 96 is a crank handle 99, andbars 98 are connected to frame members 2 and 3 by bolts I68 or othersuitable fastening means.

It will be noted that the above front and track supporting structure isoperable by actuation of the handle 99 to effect slight verticaladjustment of the front portion of track til, conveyor chain E, cradlestructure 9! and sprocket H, in acc0rdance with different sized peppers,so that the coring tubes 48 can effect the decoring of the peppers asthey reach coring position. ,7 Thus it will be noted that the sprocket'll and the tracks are adapted to normally support the chain E in aplane to permit the cups with the peppers .D therein to pass beneath thecoring tube 48 and hold-down plate 4| so that said peppers will bepositioned in underlying operative relation with respect to saidrotating coring tubes, Figs. 1 and 2. Therefore it was necessary toprovide for the vertical adjustment of the forward portion of cupcarrying conveyor chain E to compensate for peppers extending differentheighths above the cups.

Suitably mounted on the cradle structure 9! below the sprocket I! of theconveyor chain E, and correspondingly curved at the front (Fig. 2) is arubber covered or roughened surface rod member 83, extending rearwardlyat the right (Fig. l), and adapted to engage over the pulleys 32 androtatably actuate the burrs to remove the bloom ends of the peppers D asthey immediately approach the coring tube mechanism or cor-- ing headassembly. It will be apparent that being mounted on said cradlestructure, said rod will atall times be operatively positioned withrespect to the pulleys 82.

The front vertical frame standards 2 are interconnected in approximatealignment with the shaft 96 by the cross angle bars NH, and the framestandards 3 are connected in alignment with bars iill by angle bar Hi2.Mounted on the bars Hi! and B2 are the angle bars I03 mounted adjacentthe vertical standards 88 and brace structure 9?]. A bracket or framestructure 194 is suitably mounted on standard 3 or other supportingmeans and mounted for vertical adjust- '7 ment thereon is a small motorI05 connected thereto by base I85. Said motor is connected to a sourceof power and on the drive shaft I85 of which is mounted a saw Ifi'I orthe like in vertical alignment with the right hand track and conveyorfeeding line of cups I4 (looking from the front end in the direction ofthe arrows 28) and in operative relation above the feeding line ofpeppers D to remove the stems therefrom in advance of the coring actionof the tubes 413 rotatably carried by the coring head A. The motor IDSis adjustable on base I05 or the saw It? may be vertically adjustable onits shaft Ice in ac cordance with the heighth of the particular pep persbeing cored.

Following the coring operation the cored peppers are delivered from thecoring head by the left hand line of cups and during its verticaldescent from the sprocket 86 the cored peppers being discharged bygravity or dumped out of the said cups onto a conveyor or into asuitable container (not shown). In being removed from the cups thepeppers usually leave fragments thereof adhering to their interiorwalls, and, therefore, to prevent additional adherence when a succeedingpepper is placed in a cup and its normal heighth increased so that thesaw It? will cut into said pepper, a spray mechanism I68 shown in Fig.1, is provided and positioned in alignment with the vertically ascendingreturn line of empty cups, so as to direct a strong water spray intosaid cups to insure non-stickable and clean interiors to receive thesucceeding peppers for cording as in the first instance.

The driving arrangement will now be described. The main drive is frommotor I3 through chain I5 to shaft I0, beveled gear II, beveled gear '2Iand main drive shaft is to coring head A, revolving said head clockwiseas shown in Fig. 2. The remaining driving and gear arrangement fromshaft I9 is shown on Fig. 5, which includes the main drive shaft I9 onwhich is mounted the drive gear H39, and an auxiliary or idler shaft II3 with its lower end supported in thrust bearing I I I seating on theframe base 5 and its upper end journaled in bearing I I2 suitablysecured to members If. Mounted on shaft III are the gears H3, H4 and H5.The gear I09 meshes with gear H3 driving shaft H anti-clockwise andthrough gear H4 drives gear lit and the hollow tubular shaft I ll onwhich it is mounted,

clockwise. Said shaft I I! is adapted to drive the large gear 46. GearH5 on shaft HII meshes with gear H8 secured to the lower end of thehollow tubular shaft I I9, which loosely telescopes shaft H1, and isadapted to drive clockwise the conveyor drive sprocket ll. Suitablysecured to the sprocket II is a hollow drive sleeve portion I26 intowhich the upper end of shaft portion IIS extends. The telescoping end ofshaft H9 is formed with diametrically opposed slots through which extendpins or the like I2I, carried by sleeve portion I20, and by means ofwhich construction the vertical adjustment of sprocket II and conveyor Eis permitted. If desired the sleeve can be slotted and the pins carriedby shaft H9. Said large gear 46 may be mounted on the upper face of aball bearing structure and the lower face fixedly attached to shaft l9,whereby said gear is rotatably supported and the enlarged portion I22 ofshaft I I1 is connected at its upper end to the under surface of saidgear 46 which gear is rotated by the shaft H1, said enlarged portion I22constituting a housing for said bearing.

While the operation of the device would appear to be clear from theabove description, it might be well to further state, that the peppersor other articles D to be cored are manually placed in the cups of theconveyor moving feeding line in advance of the stem cutter Ill'I whichsevere the stems, and as the cup carrying the article approaches thecoring mechanism the fixed rod 83 engages and effects rotation of pulley82, rotating burr 8B removing the lower end of the article, or bloom endif it is a pimiento pepper. As each succeeding cup begins its arcuatetravel in consonance with that of the registering coring tube, said tubeis impelled downwardly by the action of its cam, rod roller in cam trackor eccentric 26, and begins its coring movement into the article andwhich completes its downward coring limit as it reaches the center pointof its arcuate travel at the front of the machine (Fig. 2), and at whichpoint it begins its receding movement by the action of its ascending camroller in upper track 2e, and at the same time the cam roller 35 on camrod 32 moving upwardly in lower cam track 2'I causes the cam-plungerhead 58 to engage the cam faces 55, moving fingers 0 into core holdingposition as at 59. During the further arcuate travel of the coring headA and tube 58, and just before said tube begins its movement out ofalignment with the cored article and the de livery conveyor line, saidcore is completely removed from the pepper or like cored article, and asit reaches complete disalignment, the cam plunger head is moveddownwardly out of engagement with cam faces 55 expelling the core, byreason of the descending'travel of cam roller 35, and the fingers C arereturned to their normal expanded position (Fig. 3) by the action ofspring 5?, and the plunger head 58 is returned to its normal inoperativeposition (Fig. 3), where it remains until the coring tube has rotatablymoved with the coring head to begin another coring cycle. Following thecomplete removal of the core, as above described, the cored articles arecarried by the conveyor to the descending line at the far side (Fig. 1),and gravitationally removed or dumped onto a traveling conveyor or intoa receptacle (not shown). cups move up the ascending portion of thefeeding conveyor line they are subjected by the spray device I08(Fig. 1) to a strong water spray which removes any remaining fragmentsof the cored articles and thoroughly cleanses the interiors of the cupsfor the repeated reception of articles to be cored as in the firstinstance.

While the construction and operation of the present invention has beendesigned more particularly for the coring of pimiento peppers, it isequally adapted to the coring of other articles, and it will be apparentthat I have provided a coring machine embodying a compact rotatablecoring head including a series of vertically reciprocatory and rotatablecoring tubes, simplified operating means therefor, including means foreffecting rotation of said head and tubes in one direction, andadditionally operating said respec tive tubes in an opposite direction,and additional features operable in a continuous operating cycle toeffect the removal of the projecting stems and the bloom end, in thecase of peppers, thereby eliminating manual steps, and not only reducingoperating costs but increasing the cored output, said coring machinecomprising comparatively few parts, readily assembled, manufacturable ata reasonable cost, and efiicient for the purposes intended.

As the empty- 9 Although in practice I have found that the form of myinvention illustrated in the accompanying drawings and referred to inthe above description as the preferred embodiment, is the most efficientand practical, yet realizing that v conditions concurrent with theadoptionof my invention will necessarily vary, I desire to emphasizethat various minor changes in details of construction, proportion andarrangement of parts, may be resorted to within the scope of theappended claims without departing from or sacrificing any of theprinciples of this invention.

Having thus described my invention, What I desire protected by LettersPatent is as set fort in the following claims:

1. A pepper or the like coring machine comprising an endless conveyorincluding a series of pepper carrying cups, each cup adapted to containa pepper with the bloom end down, means in connection with therespective cups adapted to remove the bloom end of the pepper carried bythe cup, said means comprising a rotary burr at the bottom of each cup,each cup being substantially shaped to embracingly receive the bloom endof a pepper, a coring device positioned adjacent to and above the cupsand adapted to penetrate the pepper within each of the cups for decoringpurposes, the said coring device including a resiliently mountedhold-down element engaging the pepper as the pepper approaches thecoring device, and means adapted to actuate said bloom end removing burrwhile the pepper is engaged by the hold-down element and as it isapproaching the coring device.

2. A machine for coring peppers and the like comprising an endlessconveyor including a series of pepper carrying cups, each cup adapted toembracingly contain a pepper with the stem exposed and to bring thepepper into operative relation with respect toa coring device, a cuttingdevice adap-ted to remove the stems from the peppers, a burr devicepositioned in the bottom of each cup adapted to remove the bloom end ofthe pepper, frictionally-operated means for rotatively operating saidburr device as it approaches the coring device, said coring deviceincluding resiliently mounted hold-down means for engaging the pepper, arotary coring cutter positioned adjacent to and above the pepperscontained in the cups, and means for downwardly actuating the coringcutter for causing it to enter the pepper within each cup for decoringpurposes, means for actuating the conveyor to successively position eachcup in operative relation with respect to said cutting device for thestems to remove successive stems in advance of the decoring device andto position the cup into operative relation with respect to the burroperating means to remove said bloom end as the cup approaches thecoring device, the said hold-down means engaging the pepper as the burrdevice operates on the bloom end of the pepper as each pepper and cupapproaches the rotary coring cutter but prior to engagement of eachpepper with the said rotary coring cutter.

3. A machine for coring vegetables, and the like, certain of which haveupwardly projecting stems, said machine comprising a coring mechanism,an endless conveyor including a series of cups disposed adjacent to thecoring mechanism and positioned beneath the same, each cup beingsubstantially shaped to embracingly receive the bloom end of anarticleto be cored with its stem exposed and means for actuatingsaidconveyor to successively bring an article to be cored into 10 operativerelation with respect to said coring mechanism, a rotary burr device atthe bottom of each cup, and means adjacent to the coring mechanismadapted to effect rotation of said burr device to remove the lower endof the article as it immediately approaches said coring mechanism, thesaid coring mechanism including a resiliently mounted hold-down plateengaging the article, and a rotary coring cutter havingits operativecutting edge approximately axially disposed relative to the hold-downplate and projecting for a short distance therethrough, the hold-downplate engaging the article while the burr device is acting thereonimmediately preceding engagement of the article and the coring cutter.

4. A pepper coring machine comprising in combination, an endlessconveyor, a series of peppercarrying cup operatively connected with theconveyor for receiving peppers with their bloom ends downward, the saidcups being shaped to embracingly hold the bloom ends of the peppers,coring mechanism for the peppers disposed adjacent' to and above thesaid, cups, the coring mechanism comprising a rotatable coring headincluding a plurality of vertical reciprocable coring devices, means forimparting rotary movement to the said devices independently to that ofthe said head, the said coring devices including rotary coring tubesadapted to enter successively the peppers to be cored for removing thecores therefrom, hold-down means engaging the peppers immediately inadvance of the coring tubes, resilient mountings for the hold-downmeans, means positioned interiorly of the coring tubes for separatingthe cores cut from the pepper by the coring tubes, means operable whenthe said coring devices have moved to predetermined points in theirconveying travel to expel the cores, the said means including verticallyreciprocable actuating instrumentalities for the coreseparating means,vertically spaced cam tracks in the coring head, and operating meansoperatively engaging the cam tracks and the said instrumentalities forreciprocating the latter responsively to actuation of the coring tubes.

5. A pepper coring machine comprising an endless conveyor including aseries of peppercarrying cups, each cup being adapted to receive apepper with the bloom end down, means in.

each cup adapted to remove the bloom end of the pepper carried by thecup, the said means comprising a rotary burr at the bottom of each cup,each cup being substantially shaped to embracingly receive the bloom endof a pepper, a coring device adapted to penetrate the pepper Within eachof the cups for decoring purposes, the said coring device also includinghold-down means for engaging each pepper at its top in advance of butadjacent to its reaching the coring device, common drive means for thecoring device and for the endless conveyor, rotary actuating means oneach cup for the burr contained therein, and a guide track adjacent tothe coring device but somewhat in advance thereof for frictionallyengaging and rotating the actuating means for the burr as each pepperapproaches the coring device, thereby removing the bloom end of eachpepper immediately in advance of the coring device.

6. A machine for coring peppers comprising an endless conveyor includinga series of peppercarrying cups, each cup having a shape approximatingthe bloom end portion of the peppers and beingadaptedto embracinglycontaina pep- 11 per with the stem of the'pepper exposed and the bloomend down,. coring mechanism positioned adjacent to and above the saidcups, means for bringing each of the peppers into operative relationwith the coring mechanism, cutting means adapted to remove the stemsfrom the peppers, a burr device positioned at the bottom of each cup forremoving the bloom end of the successively position each cup inoperative relation with the stem-removing cutting means in advance ofthe decoring means, and track means for frictionally engaging the burroperating device on each cup for removing the bloom end from the peppersas each cup approaches the decoring means.

7. A coring machine for removing cores from peppers or the like, whichcomprises, in combina tion, a machine frame, a rotatable coring headcarried by the frame and including, an annular series of coring tubes,an endless conveyor chain mounted on the machine frame, a plurality ofvpepper-receiving cups mounted on the endless conveyor chain forembracingly receiving peppers to be cored by the coring head, the saidchains and cups thereon being arranged to pass beneath the head, meansfor vertically reciprocating the coring tubes for causing themto enterthe pepper being cored, means for rotating the coring tubes during theirpenetration thereof into the pepper, a plurality of core-grippingfingers extending into the coring tube, cam means pivotally mounting thefingers on the coring tube, a cam rod connected to the coring tube andcarrying the said tube, a finger control and core-ejecting rod mountedwithin the cam rod, means on the said control rod for predeterminedlyoperating the fingers first to close. them to grip the core,-and thenafter a predetermined interval to open the fingers to release the core,means mounted on the machine frame for actuating the cam rod and thefinger-control and core-ejecting rod, the said means including upper andlower cam tracks, rollers on the said cam rod and finger-control andcore-ejecting rod disposed to operate in the said cam tracksresponsively to rotation of the coring head, and driving means on themachine frame for operating the coring head and the endless conveyorchain.

8. A pepper coring machine comprising in combination, an endlessconveyor, a series of peppercarrying cups operatively connected with theconveyor for receiving peppers with their bloom ends downward, the saidcups being shaped to embracingly hold the bloom ends of the peppers, amachine frame, a vertical main drive shaft mounted in said frame, coringmechanism for the peppers disposed adjacent to and above the said cupscarried by said shaft, the coring mechanism comprising a rotatablecoring head including a plurality of vertical reciprocable coringdevices, means for imparting rotary movement to the said devicesindependently to that of the said head, the said coring devicesincluding rotary coring tubes adapted to enter successively the peppersto be cored for removing the cores therefrom, hold-down means engagingthe peppers immediately in advance of the coring tubes,resilient-mountings for the hold-down means, means positioned interiorlyof the coring tubes for separating the consent from the pepper by thecoring tubes, said means including interiorly of each tube a pair ofcore gripping fingers pivotally attached to said tube adjacent theirupper ends and formed with cam heads extending exteriorly of the tube,said cam heads being embraced by a resilient member normally retainingthe fingers expanded against the tube wall, a member verticallyreciprocal in said tubeand coacting with said cam heads to bring thefingers into gripping relation with the core upon its separation fromthe peppers, said vertical reciprocal member being further operable toexpel the core when the said coring devices have moved to predeterminedpoints in their rotary travel, vertically spaced cam tracks inconnection with said coring head, and operating meansv in connectionwith said vertical reciprocal coring devices engaging said cam tracksfor reciprocating said reciprocal coring devices.

9. A coring machine for removing cores from peppers or the like, whichcomprises, in combination, a machine frame, a main vertical drive shaftrotatably mounted in the frame, suitably mounted on and attached to saiddrive shaft spaced from its upper end is an annular series ofinterconnected frame members forming a rotatable coring head, fixedlysuspended from said machine frame are upper and lower tracks, said lowertrack being within the coring head, reciprocally mounted in each framemember of said series is a cam rod carrying at its upper end a camroller adapted to supportingly travel in said upper track, said rodcarrying at its lower end a rotatable coring tube, an endless conveyormounted on the machine frame, a plurality of pepper receiving cupsmounted on the endless conveyor for embracingly receiving peppers to becored, the conveyor and cups thereon being arranged to pass beneath thehead, means for rotating said head to effect rotary travel of said camrods with respect to said track to effect vertical reciprocation of thecoring tubes causing them to enter the respective peppers being cored,additional means for rotating the coring tubes during penetrationthereof into the peppers as they pass beneath said coring head, a pairof core gripping fingers extending into each coring tube,

cam means pivotally mounting the fingers on the coring tube, a fingercontrol and a core-ejecting rod mounted within the cam rod and carryinga cam roller mounted for engagement with said lower track, means on thesaid control rod for predeterminedly operating the fingers first toclose them to grip the core, and then after a pre determined interval toopen the fingers to release the core, and driving means on the machineframe for operating the coring head and the endless conveyor.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

